WVC 17 A- 3 - 3
§17A-3-3. Application for registration; statement of insurance or
other proof of security to accompany application;
criminal penalties; fees; special revolving fund.
Every owner of a vehicle subject to registration under this
article shall make application to the division for the registration
of the vehicle upon the appropriate form or forms furnished by the
division and every application shall bear the signature of the
owner or his or her authorized agent, written with pen and ink, and
the application shall contain:

(a) The name, bona fide residence and mailing address of the
owner, the county in which he or she resides or business address of
the owner if a firm, association or corporation.

(b) A description of the vehicle including, insofar as the
data specified in this section may exist with respect to a given
vehicle, the make, model, type of body, the manufacturer's serial
or identification number or other number as determined by the
commissioner.

(c) In the event a motor vehicle is designed, constructed,
converted or rebuilt for the transportation of property, the
application shall include a statement of its declared gross weight
if the motor vehicle is to be used alone, or if the motor vehicle
is to be used in combination with other vehicles, the application
for registration of the motor vehicle shall include a statement of
the combined declared gross weight of the motor vehicle and the
vehicles to be drawn by the motor vehicle; declared gross weight being the weight declared by the owner to be the actual combined
weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles and load when
carrying the maximum load which the owner intends to place on the
vehicle; and the application for registration of each vehicle shall
also include a statement of the distance between the first and last
axles of that vehicle or combination of vehicles.

The declared gross weight stated in the application may not
exceed the permissible gross weight for the axle spacing listed in
the application as determined by the table of permissible gross
weights contained in chapter seventeen-c of this code; and any
vehicle registered for a declared gross weight as stated in the
application is subject to the single-axle load limit set forth in
that chapter.

(d) Each applicant shall state whether the vehicle is or is
not to be used in the public transportation of passengers or
property, or both, for compensation and if used for compensation,
or to be used, the applicants shall certify that the vehicle is
used for compensation and shall, as a condition precedent to the
registration of the vehicle, obtain a certificate of convenience or
permit from the Public Service Commission unless otherwise exempt
from this requirement in accordance with chapter twenty-four-a of
this code.

(e) A statement under penalty of false swearing that liability
insurance is in effect and will continue to be in effect through
the entire term of the vehicle registration period within limits which may not be less than the requirement of section two, article
four, chapter seventeen-d of this code, which shall contain the
name and National Association of Insurance commissioners assigned
code of the applicant's insurer, the policy number, and any other
information required by the commissioner of Motor Vehicles or that
the applicant has qualified as a self-insurer meeting the
requirements of section two, article six of said chapter and that
as a self-insurer he or she has complied with the minimum security
requirements as established in section two, article four of that
chapter. If the commissioner determines that the required security
is not or was not in effect, he or she shall suspend the vehicle
owner's driver's license and revoke the vehicle registration in
accordance with the provisions of article two-a, chapter
seventeen-d of this code.

If any person making an application required under the
provisions of this section, in the application knowingly provides
false information, false proof of security or a false statement of
insurance, or if any person, including an applicant's insurance
agent, knowingly counsels, advises, aids or abets another in
providing false information, false proof of security, or a false
statement of insurance in the application he or she is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned in jail for a period
not to exceed fifteen days, or both fined and imprisoned and, in
addition to the fine or imprisonment, shall have his or her driver's license suspended for a period of ninety days and vehicle
registration revoked if applicable.

(f) Any further information that is reasonably required by the
division to enable it to determine whether the vehicle is lawfully
entitled to registration.

(g) Each application for registration shall be accompanied by
the fees provided in this article and an additional fee of fifty
cents for each motor vehicle for which the applicant seeks
registration.

(h) Revocation of a motor vehicle registration pursuant to
this section does not affect the perfection or priority of a lien
or security interest attaching to the motor vehicle that is noted
on the certificate of title to the motor vehicle.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
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